Daoist tradition advocates for harmony with nature.  In the alchemical traditions of Chinese Medicine, this often meant harmonizing oneself with the energy of the seasons.

There are lessons we can learn from each of the seasons, and the energy of Springtime is associated with GROWTH!

One challenge we sometimes run into is that when we want to GROW, we are often quite motivated, but this may lead us to trying to grow too fast.

An amazing insight I learned recently (that I wish someone would've told me sooner) is that our bodies and minds are constantly working for "homeostasis" - they're basically trying to stay the same.  And so, if we go too hard for our personal change agendas, our own body and subconscious will actually fight back against these interventions and stall our progress! 

This can be important to integrate if we are going to harmonize with the energy of Springtime, because the energy of this season is all about...

One of the most exciting things I learned in studying traditional Daoist Energy Healing and the inner yogas upon which Buddhist tantra is founded, is that much of what we know of as "energetic medicine" comes from the practices of yogins in deep retreat, who used these methods to create balance and optimal health to support their inner practice.

These understandings do not have to be at odds with modern medicine!  As we've seen, many strange feats of yogis, such as raising their body temperature, slowing heart rate, and other methods of mind-body integration have been demonstrated in the lab.   This data pairs well with what we know about placebos, nocebos, and all the other ways our minds have a profound influence on our physical body.

When meditators emerged from the cave or hut, they often carried with them a profound understanding of the interactions between the mind, body, and spirit - 

they could offer these to the general public as a way of...

Last year I launched a brand-new course offering that I called the 'Empathy Dojo'.  I have so deeply enjoyed spending "mastermind" sessions with the group around the sacred arts of empathy and compassion.  A lot has unfolded and come together for me in teaching this curriculum and today I was thinking maybe I should call the next iteration "How Not to be a Jerk on the Spiritual Path!"

This thought arose as I was going over the curriculum for our Compassion Alchemy retreat happening this weekend, and how my vision of the work has become one of a

full-spectrum secular education in meditation, relationship, and human spiritual development. 

What that means practically is that with a little understanding, we can more skillfully navigate the places where we're likely to be a JERK on our path of human development.

I was thinking of it today in relation to one of our first principles in this work of the Empathy Dojo - distinguishing our stories from our ...

There's a famous quote by a meditation master out there that says something like:

"One should meditate for 30 minutes each day, unless you're very busy, then one should meditate for an hour!"

It's a pretty great joke, I'll admit - but what I don't like about it is that it can be immediately off-putting to those who are trying work a transformative practice into their real lives.  How do we integrate ANY contemplative practice, let alone 30-60 undisturbed minutes??? 

A major aspect of my personal mission is to debunk the myths that keep people thinking meditation is not for them!

Things like "you have to sit cross legged on the floor," or "you have to quiet all your thoughts," and this one above: "you have to schedule at least 30 minutes of silent time, and it's better if you can do an hour" - all are myths which misrepresent how contemplative practices work.

We are prone to fall prey to the challenges specific to us in modern consumer society:

• the idea that what it...

Qigong, yoga, mediation are amazing arts that can significantly improve the health of our mind and body, but are you getting the MOST out of them?

Many formal practice sets are made to give a generalized tune-up that enhances overall health, but there are some special situations that require more intentional movement of energy.

In medical qigong, we note eight important actions of Qi.  Our vital force needs to be able to rise and sink, expand and condense, flow in and flow out, gather and disperse.

In times of illness or infection, medical qigong advises you focus on the energy flowing out and to disperse pathogenic factors, avoiding sending them in and down.  In anxiety, we generally want to root the energy downward, or gather it if dispersed.  In depression, on the other hand, we may need to raise  our life-force up, or disperse the stagnation that is blocking us.   

In your yoga practice, you may notice that the warrior poses are...

Autumn is associated with the "Metal" element in Daoism and Chinese Medicine.

The meridians associated with this element have a lot to do with boundaries!  The Lungs represent the meeting place between what is "outside" vs what is "inside", and so especially does it's associated organ, the skin.  The Large Intestine, obviously relates with letting go of that which has no more nourishment for us.

How convenient is it, then, that the end of Autumn should come with a big family dinner (in America at least), where many of us will be required to practice good boundaries!?!

The metaphorical element of Metal bears a potent poetry here, because you want your boundaries to be well tempered.  If they're too rigid, they can become brittle and break.  If they're too soft, they won't do their job properly.  Just like the Lungs are able to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to diffuse across a permeable membrane, we want to have enough of a membrane to protect and contain...

Autumn is the season in traditional Chinese Medicine associated with our Lungs. 

Just like the energy in nature seems to be going in and down, so to are the Lungs responsible for bringing the nourishing air into our bodies, and down into circulation.

This qigong sequence is an excerpt from the 'Masters Sequence', which we study in the 'Alchemical Immersion' starting again in January!  It contains three movements to benefit the lungs.  The first stretches and tonifies, the second disperses and regulates, and the third helps to "root the qi".  

These three exercises encompass the three main types of medical qigong movements: tonifying, dispersing, and harmonizing.  

By learning this sequence, you have the essence of how to deal with all the conditions of the Lung meridian, which ultimately boil down to combinations of just three types: deficiency (tonify), stagnation/excess (disperse), and disharmony (harmonize).

We expand upon...

Long-term illness can definitely take a toll on the body!

Practitioners of Chinese Medicine and Qigong observed this long ago and explained it through their theory of the meridians and elements.  

At the root of it, anything that has to do with the immune system will involve the "wei qi" - a poetic way of describing the body's capacity to defend itself.

The SOURCE of this defensive energy is said to come from three places, one is the energy from the food we digest, another is from our breathing, and the last is from our reserves (including ideas of genetics, how much rest we've been getting, stress, and more).

In long-term illness, the needs of the defensive qi can be so great that we use up energy faster than we can replenish it. Traditionally, this is seen as one of the causes of trouble persisting after the initial infection has passed.

If this energy-drain goes on for too long, it is believed, the process begins drawing on one's reserves...

Two of the questions I get asked most by people practicing qigong are

1. Should I practice when I'm sick? 

and

2. What qigong should I practice to recover from illness?

While Qigong practice may not be a panacea (except in the most esoteric or spiritual sense), it can be a valuable resource in preventing illness and in recovery. 

Qigong enhances our mind-body connection, using rhythmic movement and breathing to invoke the "Relaxation Response", and symbolic practices to call upon our subconscious mind and the power of our emotions. 

The science of psychoneuroimmunology says our emotions and subconscious have a powerful effect on our immune systems, so practices like qigong can be a potent ally in keeping ourselves healthy!

Don't lock the thief in the house

The first insight we should know is contained in this slogan: "Don't lock the thief in the house [with you]".  The idea is that if you're coming down with something, that's not the time to practice...

The Autumn season, according to Qigong theory, brings with it a paradox: 

To harmonize with it we need to allow the energies of Life to guide us inward and downward, but we also need to rally good boundaries to help us defend against any "invasive" energies.

In ancient Daoist medicine they noticed what modern science confirms, if your sleep or nutrition are poor, or if you get too stressed, the immune system suffers!

In medical qigong practice addressing the immune system, they always tried to balance these two movements, bringing the Qi deep within to nourish, and also guiding it to the surface to strengthen our immunity.

In Autumn, our practice must follow these same principles. 

Qigong masters of old felt that during this season, our life force naturally goes within and it's the perfect time to restore and nourish ourselves - even deepening our practice of inner peace through meditation.  But at the same time, we cannot go so far inward that we neglect proper...